An international intern.

This summer, about 150 interns from all over the world have joined the United Nations Headquarters in New York City for a short but exciting two-month period, and I am one of them. When I was asked to write this article, I was honoured, but also a bit surprised, since I don't think I've been more active and social than other interns. Nevertheless, since there is an opportunity, I'd like to share with the UN Chronicle a few impressions that I and some other interns have formed during the summer of 1997.

I applied for the United Nations Internship Programme knowing exactly what it was I was looking for. It is especially important for someone in particular from a country that is absolutely unrepresented among the UN staff to work in the United Nations system. Although Azerbaijan has already been independent for six years, there is still not a single employee in the UN system from my country. Another reason that made me apply for the internship was a lack of experience at such a significant level; and it was also relevant to my field of study: economics. Given this, I was really excited when Ms. Patricia Perret, the Internship Coordinator, called me at Florida State University to tell me I was accepted into the Programme. I was looking forward to it, although I was somewhat nervous about the kind of work I would be doing.

This is my first time in the United Nations and in New York City, and I must say I really enjoy being even a very small part of such a unique Organization. There are a number of things that make me say that. First of all, I have been surprised to find out how friendly and healthy the environment here is, and the department I'm working in, DDSMS (Department for Development Support and Management Services), is no exception. Everybody, including my supervisor, has shown a great deal of willingness to work closely with me and to listen to my ideas. Honestly, this kind of impression is the most common one among the other interns, too.

However, there are also some weaknesses associated with the Internship Programme. For me, the most frustrating thing has been the absence of basic working conditions. Of course, I realize that some interns have been luckier than I in the sense that they have been given their own offices, with a telephone and a new computer, complete with all the necessary, basic software and an Internet connection. I had to spend the first week struggling for these "luxuries". Another problem has been the lack of monitoring of interns. I've talked to almost all of them and most are a bit disappointed that nobody, including their supervisors, check on them periodically, either to see how the implementation of an assignment is progressing, or just to make sure they are devoting enough time to their work. Certainly, I do realize that strict monitoring can decrease work efficiency, but it's also good to "feel" the responsibility and the sense that somebody is truly interested in your work.

Fortunately, all the advantages of being an intern in the United Nations overwhelmingly prevail over the few drawbacks. For instance, it was very exciting to attend the special session of the General Assembly - the Earth Summit +5 - and watch representatives at the highest level, from such countries as the United Kingdom, France, Germany or the United States, speaking live. Numerous conferences, press briefings and meetings were also very interesting and helped to get out the idea about what people in the United Nations are doing.

It is also very important to mention the efforts of the interns themselves to make this experience enjoyable. Thanks to the social coordinators, this summer I've gained a lot of new friends from all over the world, and the social activities organized by them were very helpful in getting rid of the stress of the working day and just relaxing.

Concluding, I would like to mention how glad I am to be an intern at the United Nations, since this is an experience I will always be proud of and will never forget. I also want to thank Mr. Pierre Pelanne and Ms. Perret for their excellent coordination of the Internship Programme. Finally, I want to thank all the interns for just being interns, as I am, since their presence enabled me to meet a lot of nice people. Thank you, everybody!

Emin Z. Huseynov of Azerbaijan graduated with an Honour's Diploma, majoring in international economic relations, from Azerbaijan State Economics Institute in 1996. He then worked in the Department of Foreign Economic Relations and in the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan. He worked as an intern at United Nations Headquarters in 1997.